Sustainable Procurement News

“The key factors driving global retail transformation are quite simple: channel reformation, store format innovation and supply chain management. China is already leading the global retail industry in channel reformation and digitizing the supply chain, but is still lagging behind the leading players, such as the US and Japan in terms of store innovation.” said Jonathan Wang, head of 7FRESH, JD’s innovative omni-channel fresh food supermarket business.

H&M has released its Group Sustainability Performance Report 2019, which outlines the retailer’s progress towards circular and climate positive fashion. 

The retailer said it reached 97% recycled or other sustainably sourced cotton during the year, and will not source conventional cotton for collections from 2020 onwards. More than half (57%) of its materials are either recycled or sourced in a more sustainable way. 

H&M is piloting a new consulting service, Treadler, that will give smaller clothing brands access to the Swedish retailer's supply chain, according to a press release distributed Wednesday.
Treadler, an H&M subsidiary, aims to help clients "overcome initial business barriers and accelerate sustainable change" by guiding them through product development, sourcing, production and logistics, a Treadler spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive in an email Wednesday.

eBay announced a joint agreement to purchase renewable energy with three other tech companies—Apple, Samsung and Sprint. The new project, called a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA), will support Apex Clean Energy’s White Mesa Wind Project in Crockett County, Texas, and will generate 75 megawatts of clean energy, which is the equivalent energy needed to power 20,000 homes. 

Across the globe, we are at a critical tipping point in the fight against climate change. The private sector, which has long served as a force for doing good, is under increased pressure to implement sustainable business practices. This comes from employees who put pressure on their employers, consumers who wield their purchasing power, and investors who are increasingly integrating ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues into their decision-making.

But today, being a sustainable business means more than just doing the “right thing” – it also makes good business sense for the company’s bottom line.

Adidas, H&M and Ikea lead a group of 77 firms for their sustainable cotton sourcing efforts in the latest Sustainable Cotton Ranking, released by the World Wildlife Fund, Pesticide Action Network and Solidaridad.
The Sustainable Cotton Ranking focuses on firms using more than 10,000 metrics tons of cotton lint per year since these players have the most control over global cotton supply chains. Globally, the share of sustainable cotton grew to 21% of global production in the 2017-2018 season, up from 12% in 2015-2016, according to materials accompanying the ranking.

Fashion retailer H&M is backing the call of safer chemicals NGO ChemSec to end the use of harmful PFAS chemicals in apparel and supply chains.

H&M, which banned the use of PFAS in its clothing, accessories and shoes in 2013, has joined POPFREE — a three-year project which aims to replace the use of the chemicals with safer alternatives. Coop Denmark is also supporting the campaign.

The world produces more than 300 million tons of plastic every year, 50% of which is for single use, according to Plastic Oceans. A significant amount of plastics each year ends up in the waste stream — in oceans, landfills and elsewhere. Great volumes of plastics — think six-pack rings, water bottles, containers, single-use bags and microplastics from manufacturing waste — are generated by the more than $12 trillion global food and grocery retail market.

Ralph Lauren will track all Polo products through the supply with a new digital identification system, according to a press release. The program will expand to the entire Polo line over time, eventually covering tens of millions of products.Manufacturers will sew QR tags into garments adjacent to the traditional branded tags, and from that point on, the garments will be digitally attached to a purchase order and tracked through the supply chain.

The start of a new decade shines a spotlight on the hurdles and opportunities that lay ahead for the retail industry. In a new report, research company GlobalData identified the key challenges retailers must address to maintain success in 2020 and beyond.

H&M has become the second high street retailer to investigate whether its products were made in a Chinese jail, after Tesco was hit with slave labour allegations.

On Sunday, the Big 4 grocer stopped selling Christmas cards after a six-year-old girl found a message in the charity Christmas cards alleging it was packed using forced labour.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced businesses to look at alternative supply chain models

Consumer brands in India witnessed an average revenue surge of 213% between 2018 and 2019

Is direct-to-consumer(D2C) the next big model for Indian retailers and consumer brands?

Starbucks Coffee Company, the global roaster and retailer of specialty coffee, announced today it will invest approximately $130 million (USD) in China to open a state-of-the-art roasting facility in 2022 as part of its new Coffee Innovation Park (CIP). As Starbucks largest manufacturing investment outside of the U.S. and its first in Asia, the CIP will incorporate a roasting plant, warehouse and distribution center, creating highly-skilled jobs and new career opportunities that will further drive smart and sustainable coffee manufacturing in China. The plant will serve as a key component of the Company’s global roasting network, and the bold infrastructure investment further deepens Starbucks multi-decade commitment to strengthen the specialty coffee industry in China, where it aims to have 6,000 stores by 2022.

China’s identity as the nucleus of the global fashion supply chain may be fading. In addition to the challenges posed by continued political jockeying and an epidemic that has brought the country to its knees, the country is also facing blowback for alleged human rights abuses stemming from the very factories that have earned it…

A Berlin store sells expired, mislabelled and oddly shaped food at heavily discounted prices.
Farms, wholesalers and retailers donate or sell their surplus food to the store.
The store prevented 2,000 tonnes of food waste in a single year.

Aldi UK has won an anti-slavery award for its efforts to stamp out exploitation in the supply chain.

The discounter beat a shortlist that also included Coca-Cola, IBM and Charoen Pokphand Foods to scoop the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Stop Slavery Enterprise Award for goods and service companies.

The supermarket was rewarded for its for its leadership in the fight to clean a high-risk and complex supply chain, according to the foundation. Judges also commended it for requiring suppliers and business partners to be trained in modern slavery awareness and legislation.

France has made it illegal for fashion brands and retailers to destroy unsold or returned clothing under wide-ranging new anti-waste legislation.

The law, which the French government claims is a world first, was finally adopted after the lower house, the National Assembly which passed it earlier this month, and the upper house, the Senate, reached an agreement.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has issued voluntary guidelines to ensure all fashion labelled as ‘vegan’ is free from animal-derived materials.

The guidelines were developed by the BRC, the trade body for retailers, to encourage firms to engage with suppliers to meet increased demand for vegan fashion. 

Brands such as Dr Martens, Marks & Spencer and Topshop have launched vegan products such as footwear and accessories in recent years. 

H&M is somewhat known for its work to make fast fashion more sustainable. The retailer pledged to reach 100% recycled or sustainable materials across the company's supply chain by 2030 and 100% sustainable cotton sourcing by 2020. It has an entire collection dedicated to showcasing more sustainable sourcing. The company has had a robust sustainability reporting practice going back to at least 2010. 

Three retail megatrends are driving this movement toward connection:

One: The brand-belonging umbrella

Two: Fueling and connecting the circular economy

Three: Establishing sustainable fashion  

"At Lenzing, we are dedicated to driving sustainability and making our world a better place. We believe in the concept of circular economy and that it plays a paramount role in solving the current climate-change challenge," Manda said.

Tesco has suspended production of charity Christmas cards at a factory in China after a six-year-old girl found a message from workers inside one.

The note, found by Florence Widdicombe, was allegedly written by prisoners in Shanghai claiming they were "forced to work against our will".

"Please help us and notify human rights organisation," the message said.

Tesco said it was "shocked" by the report, adding: "We would never allow prison labour in our supply chain."

Brazil’s accelerating deforestation is pressuring food makers, retailers, investors and commodity traders to shake up supply chains in an effort to push back on land-clearing and achieve environmental goals.